TRENTON
-- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
today that New Jersey has entered into a
multi-state settlement agreement with Shell
Oil Products US and its joint venture, Motiva
Enterprises, LLC, aimed at reducing underage
tobacco sales at convenience stores located
within Shell service station locations.

There
are 259 Shell gasoline stations in New Jersey,
all of which include on-site convenience
marts that sell cigarettes, cigars and other
tobacco products. The convenience stores
are independently owned and operated, but
sell their products on Shell Oil premises.

By
virtue of the multi-state settlement, Shell
and Motiva have agreed to adopt procedures
designed to reduce the sale of cigarettes
and other tobacco products to underage persons
at these on-site convenience stores. In
New Jersey, it is illegal to sell tobacco
to persons under the age of 19.

“This
agreement is about Shell taking responsibility
for what occurs on its premises, and it
is about the company working with us to
ensure that tobacco is not sold to minors,”
said Attorney General Milgram.

Known
as an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance,
the settlement agreement is the result of
an on-going, cooperative enforcement effort
involving New Jersey, 45 other states and
the District of Columbia. The agreement
incorporates “best practices”
developed by the states in consultation
with public health researchers and state
and federal tobacco control officials.

The
agreement includes provisions for comprehensive
training of retail personnel concerning
laws that prohibit tobacco sales to minors,
independent compliance checks to monitor
sales at certain convenience stores within
Shell stations, and potential sanctions
against owner-operators who sell tobacco
to minors, among other terms.

Shell and Motiva sell gasoline through approximately
14,000 service stations located across the
U.S. More than 13,000 of those service stations
are located within states participating
in the settlement agreement.

Studies
show that most adult smokers began smoking
before the age of 18, and that young people
are particularly vulnerable to the hazards
of tobacco, often showing signs of addiction
after smoking only a few cigarettes. Nationwide,
47 percent of underage youths who have acknowledged
buying cigarettes illegally report that
they’ve done so at gas station convenience
stores.

“Much remains to be done in the continuing
effort to keep minors from unlawfully buying
tobacco products at gas station convenience
outlets, but agreements like this one make
an important contribution,” said Attorney
General Milgram.

Other
recent, multi-state agreements addressing
the issue of underage tobacco sales at gas
station convenience marts and other outlets
have involved Conoco, Phillips 66 or 76,
Exxon, Mobil, BP, Amoco, ARCO and Chevron,
as well as the retail and pharmacy chains
Kroger, 7-Eleven, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS
and Wal-Mart. New Jersey has been a participant
in each of the settlements.

The
Shell-Motiva matter was handled on behalf
of the state by Deputy Attorney General
Cathy A. Melitski, of the Division of Law's
Tobacco Litigation Section.